A synthetic culture medium for the freshwater diatom Didymosphenia geminata

Abstract

The freshwater diatom Didymosphenia geminata has emerged in recent years as a nuisance organism with invasive tendencies in some areas. Knowledge of the biological and ecological intricacies of D. geminata is limited, in part due to the absence of a suitable culture medium for the maintenance of the diatom. This paper describes the development of a chemically defined synthetic medium for the short-term culture of D. geminata cells. A range of combinations and concentrations of macronutrients were tested and D. geminata survival and attachment monitored. This development provides the potential to explore unexplained aspects of D. geminata biology and physiology through robust culture-based laboratory studies.

Keywords:

• Didymo
• freshwater algae
• growth medium
• invasive species
• stalked diatom

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Philippe Gerbeaux (Department of Conservation) and Cathy Kilroy (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) for valuable feedback during the study, Marion Lemione, Josephin Brandes, Janet Adamson, and Sam Drew (Cawthron Institute) for laboratory assistance, and Teofil Nakov (University of Texas at Austin) for culturing advice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Ministry of Primary Industries [Agreement Number 15571].